I wonder if he also has centennial birthday parties, and if he’d want to do something special for his five-hundredth.
 
 I put a pin in that thought and tune back into the speech.
 
 Doc Calla wraps it up by thanking everyone who helped prepare something for the party, calling us each by name and mentioning what we were responsible for.
 
 Then we all break into the birthday song and Bodin lifts his mom carefully to blow out the single candle on top of the cake.
 
 My eyes prickle with the sheer joy I feel from watching everyone enjoy the cake, taking bites from each other’s plates to taste all the flavors.
 
 Creatures eat, they dance, and children head home as the party heats up.
 
 I don’t even ask Ren to dance. Not because I think he might not be ready for that, but I’m scared that he might say yes. If I’m going to be rubbing up against him, I’d rather do it naked. At home. With his cock inside me.
 
 I’m so needy for him, there’s a permanent whine trapped in my throat.
 
 And he knows.
 
 Just when I think I’m going to snap, Ren pulls me back against him and dips his mouth down to my ear. “You ready to go home, angel?”
 
 “So ready.” The words are almost a whimper.
 
 Ren rasps, “You’ve been such a good girl for me. So patient. I think you deserve a reward.”
 
 The way he purrs “good girl” is like a lightning bolt to my clit, my whole body a live wire ready to explode—all my issues with the endearment long forgotten now.
 
 Ren must sense the spike in my arousal because he simply grabs my hand and then he’s leading me across the sand.
 
 I don’t even try to say goodbye to anybody. I’m too afraid it might delay us for a second more than I’m able to handle.
 
 When I pass Marisol she makes a wildly inappropriate gesture with her hands and it almost is enough to draw a laugh from me. Almost.
 
 But I’m wound too tight.
 
 Neither Ren nor I talk as we rush across the dark hills toward his cottage, a thread of tension crackling through the air between us, waiting to be ignited.
 
 I’m so ready for him, my body primed to be set alight by his touch, my arousal dripping down my inner thighs.
 
 After the appetizer he gave me this afternoon and how in tune he is with my body now, I know I should get ready for a very memorable night. But I also remember that it’s his first time and I want it to be special for him too.
 
 Our feet crunch against the cobbled path a few steps more before Ren suddenly stops and swings me into him. His arms band around my waist and then his lips are crashing against mine.
 
 I meet his feverish kiss with an equal amount of vigor, throwing my leg around his waist in a desperate attempt for some kind of friction.
 
 Ren wrenches his mouth away from mine and breathes hard. “Home. Now.”
 
 I’m still dazed as he’s pulling me toward his cottage with even more speed, an urgency driving our feet forward along the starlit path.
 
 We stop two more times with our mouths coming together for a passionate kiss, and need an even higher level of self-control each time to pry our lips off each other to get moving again.
 
 When Ren’s cottage comes into view he speeds up even more. He yanks the door open and lightly pushes me toward the kitchen table while he puts his bag down.
 
 I flick the small light on to see Ren staring at me from across the room, his back pressed to the front door, chest heaving, body trembling.
 
 “Birth control,” he rasps out.
 
 Ignoring my throbbing clit and aching nipples, I scoot onto the kitchen table in an attempt to bring myself out of my haze of lust. “I’m on birth control, and I got tested before coming to Starry Hill.”
 
 Ren nods, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. “I mean, I’m on birth control too. I started taking a tonic the day after our first kiss.”